006
You Can Just Learn Things
21/05/2025
Pete Winn, Andy David
Pete and Andy dive into how AI is reshaping education, making it more personal, project-driven, and permissionless. From kids launching businesses with AI to learning to code through hands-on projects, they explore how curiosity is outpacing credentials.
As traditional systems struggle to keep up, AI is making one-to-one, self-directed learning accessible to anyone. In this new world, you don’t wait to be taught, you can just learn things.
Description
Pete and Andy explore how AI is transforming education and learning, discussing the future of traditional education systems, the power of self-directed learning, and how AI can democratize access to high-quality personalized education.
AI and the Future of Learning (02:50-05:43)
Discussion about what kids should study in a rapidly changing job market
Pete's children are developing entrepreneurial skills with AI support
The "Teddy Fashion Boutique" business Pete's daughter has created
Exploring game development with AI for Pete's son's tabletop gaming interests
Rethinking Traditional Education (05:43-10:30)
Critique of the industrial-era "assembly line" approach to education
The importance of play-based and child-led learning approaches
How AI can enable a shift from classroom instruction to personalized mentoring
Questioning the value of traditional education when information costs approach zero
Personal Learning Journeys with AI (10:30-16:17)
Both hosts share how they've recently learned coding with AI assistance
How AI provides the patience and personalization needed to build learning momentum
The importance of having projects you're motivated to build rather than abstract learning
Using GitHub commit tracking as a way to gamify the learning process
The Intelligent Assembly Line of Education (16:17-20:30)
School structure mimics industrial assembly line format (8 hours/day, 5 days/week)
AI allows for removing the time constraints on education
Learning can become more ad-hoc and follow natural curiosity
Education doesn't need to be confined to specific years in a person's life
Learning Through Knowledge Graphs (47:56-52:13)
Using AI to break down courses into concepts, topics and abstractions
Creating a "map" of both what exists to be learned and what a person knows
Navigating a personalized learning path from current knowledge to desired knowledge
AI can identify the optimal path through connected concepts for each individual
Purpose and Agency in Learning (34:40-37:40)
Discussion about how AI might force people to rediscover purpose beyond jobs
The relationship between agency and alignment with purpose
AI as a catalyst for pursuing learning aligned with personal interests
Democratizing High-Quality Education (52:13-56:33)
How AI can provide the benefits of one-to-one tutoring at scale
Using AI to create personalized explanations at appropriate complexity levels
The value of learning in context rather than in the abstract
Creating immersive, engaging learning experiences tailored to individual interests
Credentialism vs. Learning (01:01:56-01:15:03)
Questioning the value of credentials in a world of commoditized expertise
The shift from credential-based systems to meritocracy
"Show, don't tell" as a philosophy for demonstrating knowledge
The permissionless nature of learning with AI vs. permission-based traditional education
"You Can Just Learn Things" (01:11:12-01:15:06)
The democratizing power of AI in allowing anyone to learn anything
No need to wait for permission or formal instruction to pursue knowledge
How to use AI tools effectively for learning (even without sophisticated tooling)
The inevitable bifurcation between those who embrace self-directed AI learning and those who don't
Memorable Quotes:
"You can just learn things." (01:11:24)
"The beauty of play is it doesn't feel like work." (30:44)
"We spent most of our adult lives trying to track back to that childlike creativity." (31:04)
"I think education is going to change quite drastically." (01:01:30)
"It doesn't matter what we say to differentiate ourselves in a market. It's more about what we build and how we prove out the values we want to operate by." (09:27)
Check out more episodes
The Good Stuff is a low-fi dialogue with Pete Winn and Andy David.
Each week, we share our everyday experiences working with artificial intelligence and how it's fundamentally changing the rules of work and business, the economy, entrepreneurship, and human potential. We explore the ripple effects, unintended consequences, and emerging opportunities as AI transforms how we work and create, diving into the tools and technology we're using each week.
Expect a mix of chats out of the back of a van at the beach, walking interviews and general use of dialectic and discussion with insightful guests that lift the lid on complex topics. Chilled out, minimal jargon, authentic.
Connect With Us:
Email: info@otherstuff.studio
Pete: https://x.com/Pete_Winn
Andy: https://x.com/andymdavid
Transcript
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